Philips drops plan to enter mobile navigation device market
05 Dec 2006
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Mumbai: Philips Electronics, Europe's biggest consumer electronics company, has shelved plans to make mobile personal navigation systems, its chief executive Rudy Provoost told an analysts meeting.
He said Philips would not enter the market for navigation devices, considering the extent of competition and the low level profitability of new product in a saturated market.
Holland-based Philips had in June announced plans to make its own navigation devices, which would be 2 cm thick and weighing 160 gm. Philips had also set an initial price of around 400 euros ($533) in Europe from September.
Niche manufacturers like TomTom and Garmin currently control the booming navigation market. Japan's Sony entered the European market earlier this year.
